AAR strobe stripes on a 73 (?) • The Dodge Challenger Message Board

by **Goldenblack440** » 14 Jun 2009 14:36

This is only my opinion but i reckon the 72 (?) Challenger in these pictures is one of the neatest looking i have yet to see. What do you think? Those AAR style strobe stripes seem to suit it perfectly - far better than the factory Rallye fender/door strobe stripes (sorry Patrick!). The yellow and black...everything seems to be right about the look of it. Also how it has the Rallye front and rear blackouts around the headlights and tail lights instead of Argent, improves the look. Maybe its a 73, because the 72 Rallye didn't have the blacked out front and rear. Pity the factory didn't release that stripe option, it may have sold more.

Anyone notice anything unusual about the bumpers?

by **patrick** » 15 Jun 2009 3:40

I like it! :thumbsup:

I think it's a 73 with trimmed bumper bracket's up front. I looks a little snug. It may have been hit there, at some point also. :roll:

by **burdar** » 15 Jun 2009 17:37

Those stripes look OK. What kills it is how they ended the stripe at the rear. That looks horrible. The front looks pretty cool though. I still prefer the factory strobe stripes.

And I wouldn't have blacked out the hood or the front fatia. :disbelief:

by **Goldenblack440** » 16 Jun 2009 10:56

yes, the strobe stripes definitely look better from doors-onward but the rear quarter is still ok. What i was referring to was that the front bumper is colour coded and the rear is still chrome, did anyone pick that up? But it does look a touch pushed in at the front.

But i definitely think the blacked out front area improves the overall look of the front. That's only my opinion as i like plenty of black highlights on the Ebody. Perhaps it was only a 73 thing - here is a picture of a 73 Rallye (i think its your car Patrick?) and a dealer shot of a 74 CHallenger, with body colour front. I like the 73 front better. Both cars don't have the hood blackout decal, i wonder if that was offered in 73-74?

by **dave-r** » 16 Jun 2009 11:26

Goldenblack440 wrote: What i was referring to was that the front bumper is colour coded and the rear is still chrome, did anyone pick that up?

Of course I did. You copy cat. :wink:

by **burdar** » 16 Jun 2009 12:43

Goldenblack440 wrote:yes, the strobe stripes definitely look better from doors-onward but the rear quarter is still ok. What i was referring to was that the front bumper is colour coded and the rear is still chrome, did anyone pick that up? But it does look a touch pushed in at the front.

But i definitely think the blacked out front area improves the overall look of the front. That's only my opinion as i like plenty of black highlights on the Ebody. Perhaps it was only a 73 thing - here is a picture of a 73 Rallye (i think its your car Patrick?) and a dealer shot of a 74 CHallenger, with body colour front. I like the 73 front better. Both cars don't have the hood blackout decal, i wonder if that was offered in 73-74?

The blackout hood decal was NOT an option on 72-74 Challengers that I know of. The blackout on that car isn't a decal either. It's painted on. The 70-71 hood decal didn't go any farther than the top of the hood bulge. The one in the picture continues onto the part of the hood that recieved the engine callouts. The hood incerts were NOT painted black from the factory either. THey were body color.

The second picture of the Challenger is factory. The front fatia should NOT be blacked out. When you got the performance version of a 72-74 Challenger you got a black grill instead of the standard gray one. The reason the front fatia's were body color is that the leading edges of the front fenders are accually part of the fiberglass front fatia. In 70-71 there were seperate headlight bezels that screwed to the fenders.

Also, color matched bumpers were NOT an option on 72-74 Challengers either. THe front bumper in the first set of pics is just painted or is fiberglass.

The nice thing about this hobby is that you can do anything you want to your car. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks. If you want to cut up an origonal HEMI or six-pak car and go racing, you can do it. You may get a lot of dirty looks but it's YOUR car. Do with it what you want.

That said. My personal preference is leaving the front fatia body color as well as the hood incerts. Something just looks OFF to me when I see that.

As far as the stripes in the first set of pictures...I would take off the 440 sticker and continue the strobes all the way to the back of the quarter panel. That would look good.

by **Goldenblack440** » 16 Jun 2009 16:47

dave-r wrote:Of course I did. You copy cat.

oh sorry, you must have used this is a previous post. If so, i wasn't aware of that.

by **Goldenblack440** » 16 Jun 2009 17:03

Well you certainly know your stuff Burdar, i didn't pick up on the hood being painted. My 73 has a painted on hood stripe as well. Thanks for that info (they were really trying to save dollars by then it seems). And i have taken off the hood nostrils and sanded them smooth and polished them so they are almost like chrome. I'm sure you would not like them, but i do and they are a subtle highlight against the black and blue.

So patrick's car has had the nostrils painted and you are saying that no 72-74 Challenger had black around the headlights? Well at least i know now, as i have seen quite a few like that - all Rallyes - so i thought it might have been factory, especially with the blacked out rear section. The grille and grill deck make sense though, the 73 Dealer Option list describes that. So only Patrick can tell us if he had the front blacked out if or when he had the car repainted.

by **burdar** » 16 Jun 2009 17:35

Goldenblack440 wrote:Well you certainly know your stuff Burdar, i didn't pick up on the hood being painted. My 73 has a painted on hood stripe as well. Thanks for that info (they were really trying to save dollars by then it seems). And i have taken off the hood nostrils and sanded them smooth and polished them so they are almost like chrome. I'm sure you would not like them, but i do and they are a subtle highlight against the black and blue.

So patrick's car has had the nostrils painted and you are saying that no 72-74 Challenger had black around the headlights? Well at least i know now, as i have seen quite a few like that - all Rallyes - so i thought it might have been factory, especially with the blacked out rear section. The grille and grill deck make sense though, the 73 Dealer Option list describes that. So only Patrick can tell us if he had the front blacked out if or when he had the car repainted.

The standard Challenger grill was gray.(I'm just talking about 72-74 now) The standard tailpanel was dark/med argent with black organisol paint around the tail lights all three years. All front fatia's were body color from the factory. In 72 if you got a Rallye, you got a black grill but the fatia was still body color. The tail panel on the Rallye was painted black. I assume it was black organisol.(slightly textured) In 73-74 the tail panel was med/dark argent just like the standard Challenger when you got the Rallye package. That is still up for debate but that is my feeling on the subject of the 72-74 tail panel.

Post a pic of your polished scoop. I'm not sure if I have ever seen that.

As far as Patrick's Challenger...It looks like it has the Rallye louvers and stripes but also has the standard Challengers body side moulding. I was under the impression that the Rallyes DID NOT get that moulding. Is that car a Rallye or were the louvers added.

On a side note. You could order your standard Challenger with all of the Rallye equipment separatlly like 340 engine, hood, exc...but I don't think you could get the Rallye dash without the A57 Rallye package.

by **Goldenblack440** » 17 Jun 2009 1:26

burdar wrote:On a side note. You could order your standard Challenger with all of the Rallye equipment separatlly like 340 engine, hood, exc...but I don't think you could get the Rallye dash without the A57 Rallye package.

yes, thats about right, and probably why there are so many different specc'ed 72-74's around. The 3 speed floor shift was standard and 4 speed optional, but most manual cars seemed to have the 4 speed luckily. Some options were mandatory with the Rallye Package. You could get a 318 column auto with or without the Rallye pack but if you ordered the 340 it had to be a Rallye. My car has a partial lighting package too. It has some but not all of the components in the light package. It was a factory black (perhaps triple black, not sure if it ever had the vinyl roof, as i bought it without the fender tags unfortunately) 4 speed 340 car. Quite a desirable car now. Unfortunately when i bought it, it had a non original 340, open centre 8.75, been converted to auto and a blue paint job. I will show some pics of the nostrils when possible

by **burdar** » 17 Jun 2009 2:54

You could get a 340 without ordering the Rallye package. I remember a 73 in my home town that had the 340 but wasn't a Rallye. It was blue with a white vynal top and NO side louvers.

If you got the 340 you automatically got the scooped hood and performance axle package. You could also order a standard 318 Challenger with the scooped hood.

What "light group" parts do you have? I thought it was an all-or-nothing deal. The light group included...fender mounted turn signals, trunk light, glove box light, map light and ignition key light.

The funny thing is that my fender tag does NOT have A01 listed on it but it does have the codes for the fender mounted turn signals and the trunk light. I was told that the only things listed on the tag were the parts that required body panel mods.

by **Goldenblack440** » 17 Jun 2009 3:27

Burdar, firstly, i just realised something. Why i was thinking that the fascia area was blacked out on the Rallye, was because mine looked so factory. All the plastic (or fibreglass) area is all black including the integrated eyebrows and bonnet strip. Because is WAS factory, cos it was a factory BLACK car !! Silly me, so of course its black, as its body colour ! So i am not complaining about that - i like it. At least i can say its factory !

Anyway, the reason i thought all 340 optioned cars had to have the Rallye package was because the owner who bought the car when it was first imported had written a lot of notes about the car and he had written that. So perhaps, as is usual with all these cars, this was the norm, but there were always exceptions. Sometimes , as in Australia, the big car dealers who knew hierarchey in the Production plants used to be able to special order things for them selves as Company Cars. I'm sure that happened in the States as well. I'm sure the company would have preferred that the 340 cars had the Rallye package rather than bits and pieces but i'm sure people would have had special orders.

My Light Package has the glovebox light, Map Light, Ignition Light and Courtesy light both with Delay Timer. However it doesn't have the fender mounted indicator repeaters or the trunk light! Pity. Unless both fenders have been replaced, but i doubt that very much as there is no sign of that and no wiring.

Strange that they put special codes on your tags just for those two Lighting Group items, esp. trunk light. So yours does not have glove box light? Yes there were many anomolies in those days, just to make things confusing for people like us!!

by **patrick** » 17 Jun 2009 4:58

Hello Steve, burdar and all!!!
My tail panel and front fatia, are both Dark Argent. I like em'! :biggrin:

So are the hood nostril's. This is a #'s 340 car. This is not an A57 Rallye. It came factory, with all the Rallye option's. The fender tag state's V5X so, I believe the strobe stripe and louvre's, were an add on. It doe's have the Rallye dash,(N85). 8.75 Suregrip and 727 slapsick Tranny. Unmolested Tranny and rearend have matching VIN # also. Complete Light package. no AO1, though. I don't think they listed that code in 72-74. All complete and on the fender tag. Never found a build sheet.

But that's O.K.

This car is a "C" code, made for Canada. Came with a block heater as well. It was removed when engine was rebuilt. Still have it and, all original part's down stair's. It was special ordered by a gentleman in Alberta. But no "Special" fender tag. I'm still learning about these car's. It's a fun journey! :wink:

All the same, My strobe's fit my fender molding's better than the AAR Strobe's, in your picture. I'll keep mine. :p:

by **Goldenblack440** » 17 Jun 2009 12:18

i thought it was your car Patrick. Very interesting car! I thought it was a Rallye -well it is for all intents and purposes. Its only a number on a tag that says it isn't. Is your slapstick shifter a T Bar or a short stubby stick? I love the look of the front. Dark argent eh? You could have fooled me for black- that is very dark all right - looks very nice. And was that ordered from the factory too, and the hood inserts.? Very interesting. I love the front spoilers (were they factory ordered or put on later?). It does look a lot cleaner without the big 5mph bumpers. But i have to disagree about the stripes. Was never comfortable with the fender strobe stripe. The fender moulding i like, but the stripes coming out of them looked like an after-thought. I much prefer those AAR ones at the beginning. Lucky we are all different in our thoughts. So you are in Washington State... i am ordering some Bilstein shocks for my 71 from Firm Feel Inc. up there. Its close to the border with Canada isn't it? Must get quite cold too. all for now.

by **burdar** » 17 Jun 2009 12:46

The only real problem I have with painting the front fatia black or argent is that the fender extentions also get painted. It wouldn't look bad if you could modify the fatia to accept the earlier bezels or at least paint the extensions body color. You would have a paint line showing but it wouldn't be noticable unless you looked up into the headlight area.

The front spoilers were a factory option on T/A Challengers in 1970 only. I used to think that they were standard on the T/A's but they weren't. They seem to be a popular add-on. They look good on any year.

My car has everything in the A01 light group. I was told that just the parts that required different body panels made it onto the tag. What I mean is that the fender mounted turn signals required holes in the fenders so that was put on the tag. The trunk light had holes in the trunk for the light also. THe other light group parts didn't require any body modifications so they weren't put on the fender tag.

Golden...as far as your car not having the fender mounted turn signals...it could be an "export" thing. Maybe export cars played by a different set of rules? I know in earlier years the fender mounted turn signals were deleted if you got the performance hood. The reason was that you couldn't see the passengers side turn signal over the hood bulge. I don't know what year they decided to keep them on the car.

I know we have gotten off topic fron the origonal post but there is some good info in here. I personally like the factory strobes. The funny thing is that I have never seen my car with them. My dad had the car re-painted at least once before I came along and didn't want to spend the money to have the stripes put back on. He opted for solid stripes instead. It will be interesting to see the correct stripes back on the car.

by **patrick** » 18 Jun 2009 4:51

Yes, it does have the T-handle shifter. I thought the chin spoiler's were an option for 71's, as well. I just liked the look and, put them on. Thanks Year One! :biggrin:

And your right burdar. You can't see the the passenger, fender turn signal anyway. Maybe, they put them there so the passenger can see if your using your right signal. :s024:

Steve, the argent paint up front is all custom from the 2nd owner. The car used to be JY9: Dark Metalic Gold. Looks like Rootbeer Brown to me. I like the FY1: Top Bananna yellow, better.

I dissagree about the fender extention's, or bezzel's. I like the contrast. But, I'm still with burdar on the strobe's. Now, if I still had my Cuda', I would have to get the AAR ones. :wink:

by **Goldenblack440** » 18 Jun 2009 18:16

I agree with you there Pat on the colour. I was originally going to paint my RT 71 clone Gold. (Hence the name: Goldenblack, ie "Gold and Black) But then i saw a 73 Cuda Rallye in that colour and i did not like it. Did not suit the car at all. It turned me right off that colour. Silver is ok, but not gold for me. Now i am doing the car in bright red. Your Top Banana is a much more fitting colour for your car than the dark gold. BTW, i thought the chin spoilers were 71 RT options as well.

by **burdar** » 18 Jun 2009 18:40

I'm not 100% sure about the front spoilers. I thought they were just T/A.

by **patrick** » 20 Jun 2009 6:21

I've seen so many, old photo's of the 71' RT's, with them. I think it was an option with 71's, too. Maybe Barry W. will chime in. :roll:

by **Jon** » 21 Jun 2009 3:19

I think the strobes, black top, and black hood are a bit too much contrast. Pat's Challenger looks very clean and balenced. :thumbsup:

Been planning to put the same front spoiler a on my 70 after dicussing the front end lift (at speed) last week. Any tips on suppliers and the install? Thanks.

by **Goldenblack440** » 21 Jun 2009 4:55

Jon, for the spoilers, can't go past First Place Auto Products. www.fpap.com. 330-493-1420 OHIO. They make them to original standards, include fitting instructions, PLUS are very friendly to talk to (not like some places). Very helpful etc. Price is good too.

by **Jon** » 21 Jun 2009 14:05

Thanks, I will give them a call on Monday. :thumbsup: